Great video Paul. I know this is also key in consistently hitting the sweet spot on the club however I still find that I’m hitting 1/4 inch toward the toe many times. Am I not relaxing the arms enough? Or may there be another reason? Thanks.

Glad you liked it. The toed shots are you looking for the shot too early or rolling back on your heel through impact. I would think you are looking early to see the amazing shots you are hitting. This is actually a good thing because betters hit the toe poorer players hit the heel.

Staying loose AND getting that backside elbow in onto the body/rib cage and hands down working inside out is a challenge.

What seems to work for me to accomplish the elbow/hands down and in is to really slow down or stop at the top (not really but it feels that way) and turn my left wrist out slightly to slightly close the face which forces my right trail elbow down and hands to kind of drop and start to move to the slot where i can get my hands inside the ball.

Sound acceptable as a way to stay loose while getting inside the ball?

I wouldn’t be doing this forever because it sounds like you are manipulating the face. Only a few degrees open or closed and you will not be consistent. Not sure why you are having so much trouble doing this. It’s really not that hard. Your body tilt affect the path. If you are hitting you are leaning forward in the downswing. So you tilt back. Get the path then straighten it out with the touch the legs position. This is how I got it many years ago. The problem is people want it in 2 seconds. For many practice sessions I felt like I was behind it. I was doing this daily which is what it takes to master something. AS you do this you aren’t going to hit great shots. Most will be pushes and push fades but versus over the top these are the shots you want. You get that then you have half of it. The path. Once you do you work on straightening it out. How? You turn more. Do the touch the legs position as this will stop you from overtilting. If you still have any fade or slicing spin on it you do the roll over drill.

When I work with people live this is minutes to fix an over the top swing. You just have to see it as path or spin. It really is that simple.

Anything that someone does to “get it” or have a breakthrough I am usually fine with but not necessarily forever. I would rather the person do it than not but what I am suggesting are things I have done and work on with people for 25 years so I know they work. Not everyone hears what I am saying or it registers to them so I give people lee way in figure it out on their own but you have to be careful.

Fast is hitting hard. So yes, slowing down is great. Just take the club back really slow then really fast and you will see that really fast will tighten your arms. This is why I want people taking it back with the coil. You can only coil your body so fast plus if you are coiling you are not jerking it back with the arms.

Also, everyone here has to stop seeing their arms as arms. They are a connection to and axis. There is no power in them in the downswing. Just like the flexible part of the headcover. If it was me and I understood this concept I would be sitting there thinking there is no power in my arms coming down so how can I hit the ball? Well, if I turn my body my arms will move. Like twirling the headcover. This is what I did and how I got it back in 1999 after 10 years of trying everything. So a big part of it is seeing it differently. If you did not hit or help the shot with your arms there is no way it would move away from 90 degrees from your body in the downswing. So simple physics and having the concept of not hitting anything has to be forefront on your mind. After you experience it you then have to get used to and trust these feelings long into the future.

So stay focused. Slow down for sure. And do nothing with the arms in the downswing. The focus needs to be on the body and letting the club go wherever it wants. Simple physics will drop it perfectly on plane if the body moves first.

While playing today I realized that my mind set was that the club needed help from my muscles to hit it the distance I wanted. I realized that I even did it with my putter. After I realized that , my one swing thought was don’t help the club. I’m not saying that I hit only great shots after that but it sure took a whole lot less effort.

Paul
Regarding the mass being 90 degrees to the axis- should the club and arms form a 90 degree angle to one’s body? If so, would that mean bending more or less in stance to get the 90 degrees? Or is the 90 degrees achieved via the wrists? I’m just not clear on what the mass is actually at 90 degrees to. Thanks.
Brian